Pop Culture Reviews

Movie Review – Let the Right One In

Distributor: Magnet/Six Shooter Films Released: 2008 Genre: Drama/Horror Credits: Kåre Hedebrant as Oskar,  Lina Leandersson as Eli Director: Tomas Alfredson

This review contains spoilers – read at your own risk!

I can’t remember the last time I saw a vampire movie that moved me. ‘Let the Right One In’ is one that I would have to rate right up there with ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’. It possesses all the fundamental elements of a great story with an exceptional cast, characters that reach out to you and of course, just the right amount of blood.

The story is unique because it focuses on two children, Oskar a 12-year-old boy and Eli a 12-year-old girl who just happens to be a vampire. It is almost as if both children are experiencing extreme feelings of loneliness – Oskar’s stem from being an outcast and bullied at school and Eli’s because she is a vampire. The relationship that develops between the two goes against all the rules Eli has set for herself but somehow, the unbearable loneliness drives them together, with almost devastating results.

The fact that the movie is set in Sweden (Stockholm) in the 1980s and was originally based on a book called ‘Låt den rätte komma in’ gives this story a much more unique feel to it and it’s refreshing to see a movie about a vampire told with such vulnerability and realism.

The cast is exceptional, in particular the 200-year-old vampire Eli, who portrays every aspect of her youth in such a way that it’s hard to believe she’s a monster. There are moments that will leave you feeling nothing but pity for the girl, a vampire who exists by feeding off the blood of humans yet still manages to put aside her hunger for blood so she can remain friends with Oskar. It’s almost romantic in a way.

One of the most moving scenes occurs when Oskar refuses to invite Eli into his house after she explains to him that she must be invited into every room before she can enter. This ‘rule’ that most vampires in vampire lore seem to adhere to has even more of a profound meaning in this movie.

Most vampire movies I’ve seen don’t seem to have alot of depth to them which is where the direction and cast really come into play. Let the Right One In doesn’t even feel like a vampire movie – it’s more of a story about sacrifice, friendship and the frailty and strength of a relationship that begins in darkness and in the end, gives into the light.

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